Most of us are aware of anorexia. Perhaps like me, you associated the eating disorder with teenager girls.  Well, last week an eleven year old fainted at my feet and apparently anorexia is something increasingly seen among 8 to 11 year old children.

My eye opener happened last week.  I’m in the process of creating a line of tween special occasion dresses.  We make a sketch, sew a sample garment and then fitting it on a real person.  The person who fits the sample is called (surprise, surprise) a fitting model.  It’s important to use a real person so that you can see fit nuances and correct the pattern before you go into production.  Fitting models are not super thin models seen in fashion magazines and on the runway.  They are simply people who wear a specific size of clothing.  For the new tween line, my fitting model is a charming 12 year old girl. She has a wonderful attitude and is quite patient as we poke and prod her with measuring tape, common pins and other tools of the trade,  Last week she came with a friend who was also interested in being our fitting model.  Her friend was taller and had started to develop a bust.  Since girls who wear a size twelve dress come in all heights and weights, we welcomed another reference point to see how the clothing looked on a real child – even if she was on the thin side.

Our new fitting model tried on the dress and we started the fitting.  Not even 5 minutes went by when she turned ghostly white and fainted.  Fortunately, she regained consciousness after a few seconds.  We had her sit down and her friend strongly suggested she needed to eat. At first she didn’t want to eat anything. Some gentle questioning revealed that she hadn’t really eaten anything except a small cup of dry cereal that morning and heaven knows when and how much she ate before the cereal.  That’s when anorexia came to mind.

We hear about anorexia among girls.  As mothers of young girls, we need to be aware and pay attention to possible signs of anorexia.  It starts younger than we think, so don’t immediately dismiss an 8 year old who says: “I don’t want to get fat.”  Naively, I didn’t think that an 11 year old girl would be concerned about being fat.  I guess I was wrong.

Contributed by Chief Princess Mom creating a new line of tween dresses.

So, what do real moms think of the Pampers with Dry Max diapers?

Heather tried Size 3 on her 2 year old daughter: “I recently tried the new Pampers Cruiser with Dry Max and am sad to say, was not impressed. My two year old woke up twice through the night with wet jammies and sheets. I tried one during the day and it seemed to get very saggy after she wet. The new Pampers Cruiser with Dry Max won’t work for this family”

Like skin care, makeup and everything else in life, you’ll find that what doesn’t work for some people does work for others.  These moms liked the new Pampers with Dry Max:

Bridgette from The Not-So-Blog tried Size 5 on her daughter: The size 5 fit my daughter well and was actually longer than the diaper without dry max. She appears to be comfortable and moves freely in the diaper. After monitoring the performance of the new Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max, I can tell you that we have not had one single leak! Even the wet diaper is less bulky that the previous diaper!

Jennifer from The Dirty Shirt tried the Cruisers with Dry Max on her daughter: I have been using Pampers Cruisers with Dry Max for a little over a week now and I have noticed two great things. One, is the new diapers are thinner which means I can carry more with me or I can have more room in the diaper bag for other items. The second thing that impressed me was the way the thinner diapers held the liquid in when my daughter went potty.

Felicia from GoGrahamGo let a friend try the Cruisers in Size 3 on her son: She (Felicia’s friend) is also a Pampers user and said that they worked just as well as the other Pampers, but were thinner. My friend said that she would definitely use them again.

In the end, the best way to know if a diaper is going to work for you and your little one is to try them!  Try a sample of Pampers’ high performance Cruisers with Dry Max for FREE so you can determine if they fit your needs!

Enter to win a special edition Liz Lange for Pampers with Dry Max diaper clutch on A Mom in Red High Heels. Contest deadline is March 22 @ 11:59 PM PT.

Even if you can’t catch a leprechaun this March 17, you can still make one (along with many other crafts and treats) to celebrate the greenest holiday of all – St. Patrick’s Day! Celebrate at home – or in the classroom – with Disney FamilyFun magazine’s mischievous ideas – and you’re sure to ‘strike gold!’

CRAFTS AND GAMES

Wee Leprechaun: Make-your-own leprechaun!

St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt: Follow fun all the way to a faux pot of gold.

To Catch A Leprechaun: Three clever traps for taking a stand against St. Patrick’s Day mischief: Leprechaun Hat Pit Trap, Rainbow Cage Drop, Tricky Trapdoor

Green Stamp: Spread the luck o’ the Irish this St. Patrick’s Day with a homemade shamrock stamp. Use it to decorate paper place mats, coasters, tablecloths, or anything else your little leprechauns wish to dress in green.

RECIPES

Clover Cookies: For St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), or any day you feel like you need a little extra luck, bake up a batch of these cheerful green shamrock cookies. Give some to your friends and classmates, so they will be lucky, too.

Taste a Rainbow Cupcakes: Here’s what little leprechauns look forward to on St. Patrick’s Day: a magical snack that can add color to the grayest March afternoon. Pot of gold not included.

Luck of the Irish Cupcakes: It’s not far to the gold at the end of this rainbow-topped Emerald Isle cupcake, just the thing for your lads and lasses on St. Patrick’s Day.

Shamrock Cupcakes: It doesn’t take the luck of the Irish to make these St. Patty’s Day treats look so sweet — just a clever baking technique.

St. Patrick’s Pot of Gold: Surprise your favorite little people on March 17th with these wee emerald pots filled with sweet, edible gold.

This St. Patrick’s Day get into the fun with your Classy Girl and make something special for the day!  My kids are always talking about wanting to catch a leprechaun so I think we will be making one of those nifty traps, or maybe all three!

Visit Disney Family Fun for more St. Patrick’s Day fun and recipes!

Does your little one have to hold themselves up on the potty, when you’re in a public restroom? Does your Classy Girl seem like a magnet for germs? Here what this young Classy Girl has to say about Glovies (protective hand covers intended for public restroom excursions) and let us know…

Would YOU use these Glovies?

Find Glovies at MyMomKnowsBest.com

Contributed By Chic Mom

My husband and I were shocked with the reality that our 5-year-old daughter has Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes. Earlier this month we took her to her pediatrician as she had increasing thirst and was going to the bathroom frequently, getting up 3 times a night to do so. The onset was not as frequent, of course, but over a two week period had become noticeably worse.

Initially, we were able to reason it with, “It’s winter, the air is dry and her room is the hottest room in the house when the heater is on.” We also reasoned that she didn’t have any other symptoms. Then her appetite increased tremendously. But, she had gone through this before with a growth spurt so again, we had a “valid” reason not to suspect anything. Finally, the two days prior to us finally taking her in, she became fatigued, appeared pale and even her teacher noted she just didn’t seem right in class.

I’ll admit that I had the thought of diabetes running through my mind. We have friends with a son who was diagnosed at age 5 and I remember her talking about how he would drink so much and use the restroom frequently.  I mentioned my concern to my husband but we didn’t act on it. Finally, the night before we brought her to the doctor, I declared that she must go in and I knew it was diabetes. The next morning, she woke up nauseous and dry-heaving, another sign of uncontrolled diabetes.

Her pediatrician had her do a urine test and before even speaking to us, called ER to speak with the endocrinologist on-call. My daughter’s keatone levels were high. Diabetes.org explains, “when your cells don’t get the glucose they need for energy, your body begins to burn fat for energy, which produces ketones. Ketones are acids that build up in the blood and appear in the urine when your body doesn’t have enough insulin. They are a warning sign that your diabetes is out of control or that you are getting sick. High levels of ketones can poison the body. When levels get too high, you can develop diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.” Essentially, my daughter’s body was starving.

While I kick myself for not having listened to the nagging feeling in my gut (or God whispering me a warning!), I am so, so thankful that we brought her in when we did before her condition was worse.

We spent 4 days, 3 nights in the hospital.  The first 24 hours were especially hard as they poked her little fingers every hour, drew blood every 6 and we had to listen as 2 other pediatric patients went into Code Blue, one of them losing her battle.  The next 2 days were greatly improved as my classy girl was taken off her insulin drip and was able to go to the fun playroom on the unit.  She received visits, balloons and cards from many friends.

My husband and I went through intense diabetic control training with the endocrinology team.  We practiced giving shots to each other, learned how to calculate the insulin dosage and got a glimpse of what life would look like with a diabetic child: living by the clock, charts and carb counting.  We also spent a good deal of time with the nutrition team learning what she can eat and how to manage her diet.

Now, two weeks later, we are settling into a routine.  This non-analytical mom is learning new management skills, our whole family is eating higher quality food and I’ll admit, we are saving money by not going to Starbucks or eating out!  My daughter is a trooper, handling her new disease like a pro.  She very matter-of-factly explained to her classmates that if she didn’t have her insulin shots she would die (how awful is it for a child to have to know that truth?!); she takes her 4 shots a day and 8-10 finger sticks a day like a brave little girl.  Sometimes she cries but I certainly don’t blame her for that!  Sometimes I cry at the reality of her being insulin dependent for the rest of her life, at the thought of diabetic complications and knowing that there is nothing I can do to change our reality.

But, there is hope.  With a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and consistent monitoring she’ll live a great life.  We’ve talked to many families already who were in our place before and their children are healthy and happy today.  Whatever the next hurdle is, we’ll deal with that then.  For now, we consider it our mission to educate others about Type 1 Diabetes (there is a huge difference between type 1 & 2!), help raise awareness and funds for research.  Our calling in life, our children, has not changed but our mission has been redirected.  I hope that through my posts, other parents will recognize type 1 diabetes onset before it results in Ketoacidosis, what you may be able to do to help reduce your child’s risk of unset, and if your child already has Type 1, then we can be a support to each other.

Until the next post, be well and hug your children!

Contributed by:
Uptown Mom